aaamusic | On 12, Mar 2012

On 19th March, Killing Joke will release ‘In Cythera’, the first single from their new album, ‘MMXII’ (2012), released April 2nd on Spinefarm Records / Universal.

Killing Joke’s ‘MMXII’ is a dense and dark work that manages to combine their trademark relentless guitars, pounding tribal funk rhythm section and dark & powerful message with moments of rare beauty. ‘In Cythera’ is one of those moments of beauty, Jaz Coleman being grateful for the good times and questioning if he will return home. Jaz lives on a small island in the Pacific, three hours flight time from New Zealand, where they have banned mobile phones because “the signals affect the bees”.

‘In Cythera’ is released on ltd edition 12″ & CD, and both include the exclusive studio track, ‘Penny Drops’.

The accompanying video is directed by Mike Coles, long-time Killing Joke collaborator and artistic genius. The video includes footage of the island Jaz lives on from the forthcoming career-spanning film, ‘The Death And Resurrection Show’, cut in with the whole band performing live in 1981 and Jaz singing.

2012 is the perfect year for Killing Joke to be releasing an album that is as dense and as dark as the surrounding swirls of madness in the world. At a time when the news is fast-forward and the planet seems to be descending into madness, who better than Killing Joke to reflect this?

When their original line-up of Jaz Coleman, Geordie, Youth & Big Paul reconvened in 2008 after working together intermittently, that strange voodoo once again filled the room. Individually, they have a power, but together they have something sulphurous and strong that few bands can match. Killing Joke are not an average band with an average agenda; they lock the door and let the ritual commence, and ‘MMXII’ is the result.

The album’s key is the end of times, an age of flux, a shift in consciousness; the themes are political, anti-capitalist and forward-looking… the 10 album tracks are an avalanche of sound that is empowering whilst jolting you awake.